George Neil Furey

Statement of Research Interests

“While it is true that a species individual responds to its soil niche, it is also true that it modifies that niche, which, in turn, reacts upon the individual. A broader approach is called for, the joint development of soil, vegetation and animal life with their mutual interrelated feedbacks (Jenny, 1961). It is embodied in the concept of the ecosystem.” (Jenny et al., 1969)

Despite more than a century of work, the ecosystem remains an enigma. I am fascinated with this puzzle that nature has presented to us in the melding of the organic products of photosynthesis with the abiotic properties of soils. In this theme, my research seeks to understand plant-soil interactions at the intersection of soil biogeochemistry and plant ecology. As Jenny described, I believe the siloing of the study of life shrouds us from comprehending how biodiversity generates the emergent feedbacks that govern ecosystem nutrient cycles. I am building an interdisciplinary research program combining theory from soil science and ecology with empirical work in plant and soil modalities. Using an experimental field approach, I am seeking to deconstruct how plant functional biodiversity structures the cycling of elements within an ecosystem. Understanding the interwoven plant-soil processes that catalyze the flux of elements within an ecosystem is essential to both the restoration of degraded lands and the maintenance of the ecosystem services upon which we all depend. 

H. Jenny, R. J. Arkley, A. M. Schultz. 1969. The Pygmy Forest-Podsol Ecosystem And Its Dune Associates Of The Mendocino Coast, Madroño, Vol. 20, No. 2 https://www.jstor.org/stable/41423345